Will Trae Young Be Able to Play in Game 5 or 6 Against the Bucks?
Published July 1 2021, 7:49 p.m. ET
Whenever the star player on your favorite team's health is compromised, you're stuck in a weird place emotionally. That's because you go through all of the shallowest feelings that make you realize you're not "naturally" as good of a person as you'd like to be because the first place your mind goes to, more often than not, is that your team's chances of winning have been compromised. Which could be why so many people are eagerly awaiting a Trae Young injury update.
So what's the update with Trae Young's right foot bone bruise?
Both the Atlanta Hawks and the Milwaukee Bucks were playing without their stars in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, a series that saw Trae Young exit the floor due to a bone bruise in his right foot and Giannis Antetokounmpo hyper-extend his left knee after coming down incorrectly on his leg.
While neither of the injuries that the stars are suffering is career-ending, putting them on the floor at this point would be counterintuitive. Whichever team that wins the series still has to play in the NBA Finals against the Phoenix Suns, who have been looking absolutely incredible. And then there's the rest of their careers that they need to be thinking about as well. No use playing now and subjecting themselves to further injury.
Especially when Atlanta was able to put so many points on the board against the Bucks in their last game. The Hawks were able to win 110-88, a staggering 22 point blowout that shows even without Trae Young, solid coaching, confidence, and persistence can pay off.
Then again, the Bucks didn't have their star player on the floor, which may have been a deciding factor.
Reports have been circulating that both Trae and Giannis are chomping at the bit to play in Game 5. However, they're waiting until the last possible moment to see if they feel good enough to play instead of pushing their bodies to the point of injury in practice.
As of now, the possibility that either Trae or Giannis appears in Game 5 will be a "game-time decision," according to team coach Nate McMillan, as per Sporting News.
Lou Williams filled in for Trae, showing up in a big way after sinking 21 points, eight assists, and five rebounds in 35 minutes of play. Should Trae not show up, Atlanta might have to look to the veteran once again to fill in for their star player.
Is Clint Capela going to be playing on July 1?
Clint was a clutch player for Atlanta in Game 4 as well, but in the final minutes of the contest, he suffered an inadvertent elbow to his right eye, which rendered an appearance in Game 5 as questionable. Like Trae, whether he takes to the floor will be yet another game-time decision.
When was the last time the Atlanta Hawks or Milwaukee Bucks were in the Finals or won an NBA Championship?
A ring has been a long time coming for both franchises. The Milwaukee Bucks earned their first and only NBA Championship in 1971. For the Atlanta Hawks, it's been an even more prolonged wait: 1958. Interestingly enough, both teams made it to the NBA Finals three years after winning a ring. The Hawks appeared in the Finals in 1961, and the Bucks did it again in 1974.
Who are you hoping pulls through to represent the Eastern Conference against the Phoenix Suns?
